[1] The bulk of the book is given over to reviews of over 150 role-playing games[2] that were available in 1990, in a section titled "The Good, the Bad, and the Awful."

[3] Over the next decade, several authors referred readers to this book for more information on how to enter the world of role-playing games.

[6] Similarly, in his paper An Analysis of Early 1980s English Language Commercial TRPG Definitions, Jose P. Zagal acknowledged this book as an important source of information about "the most significant games" published between 1980 and 1984.

He concluded, "There’s lots of historical perspective, amusing rules bloopers, and maybe even room for argument, but overall I enthusiastically recommend Swan’s book.

Schwartz also noted that Swan had provided "an excellent glossary at the end of the book that will be helpful to the new player.